422

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN

August 27, 1915.

HYDRAULIC DECKING GEAR AT A
BELGIAN COLLIERY.

An interesting account of a hydraulic decking arrange-
ment installed at the La Louvidre and Sars Longchamps
Collieries has recently been described by C. Juvent in
the Transactions of the Association of Engineer
Graduates of Mons School of Mines.

The device is composed of four cylinders (I., II., III.,
and IV., fig. 1), in which operate two plunger pistons,
connected with a platform by chains running over
pulleys. By this means the cage descends slowly as the
pistons rise in the uppermost cylinders. The first con-
dition of efficient working is that the platform shall move
horizontally, and this is effected by transferring the
fluid in I. to IV., and that in II. to III.

The communications between the cylinders are con-
trolled by the duplex valves shown in fig. 2. The pipes,
a, b, c, and a1, b1, c1, connected with cylinders before
referred to, have their counterparts in the valves. The
lower pipe d is connected with a reservoir provided for
the purpose of supplying water to compensate for
leakage. The four positions which can be taken up by
the valve pistons are shown on the sector through which
the controlling lever works. In the position 1, the gear

Fig. i

Fig. 3

Figs. 1-3.

Fig 4.

“1

I

/
k
I u

I

; r---i

i i

■ i

' I \

11 \

\

-A

is brought to rest ready to take the cage; the latter
rests on the platform, and the onsetter withdraws the
empty tubs from the lower deck, replacing them by full
tubs. He then moves the lever to the second position;
by this means communication is established between a
and b and between a1 and b1; the cage descends for a
distance exactly corresponding to the height between
the decks, when the valves s and s1 are automatically
closed, and the descent is arrested. After the tubs have
been withdrawn from this deck the lever is moved to
the third position, thus establishing communication
between a and c and between a1 and c1. When a fourth
deck has to be cleared, the lever is next moved to posi-
tion 2. After the cage has been lowered, the lever is
brought for a short period to the position 4, which
enables any leakage to be compensated for by the
delivery of water from the reservoir.

Fig. 3 shows the method by which the two valves
8 and s1 operate on each occasion that the platform
is lowered a distance corresponding to the height
between two decks. Fig. 4 shows a gear arranged for
handling cages of four decks.

INSTITUTION OF MINING ENGINEERS.

Programme of Annual Meeting.

The 26th annual general meeting of the members of the
Institution of Mining Engineers will be held at the Hotel
Metropole, King-street, Leeds, on Wednesday, September 15,
1915, at 2.30 p.m.

The first bye-laws to be made under the Charter of the
institution have been adopted by the council, and will be sub-
mitted to the meeting for their approval, in order that the
same may be allowed by the Lords of the Privy Council, as
provided by the Charter.

The members will be welcomed to the city by the Lord
Mayor of Leeds (Aid. James E. Bedford).

The Institution medal for the year 1914-15 will be pre-
sented to Dr. John Scott Haldane, F.R.S., in recognition of
his investigations in connection with mine air.

The following papers will be read, or taken as read :—
“ Some Effects of Earth-Movement on the Coal Measures of

the Sheffield District (South Yorkshire and the Neighbour-
ing Parts of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire),” by Prof.
William George Fearnsides, M.A. (Cantab.), F.G.S.;
‘‘Compressed Air for Coal Cutters,” by Mr. Sam Mavor;
“ Gas Producers at Collieries for Obtaining Power and
By-products from Unsaleable Fuel,” by Mr. Mansfeldt Henry
Mills. The following papers will be open for discussion :—
“ Boring and Drilling on Oil Fields,” by Dr. Paul
Dvorkovitz; ‘‘American Coal Dust Investigations,” by Mr.
George S. Rice, Chief Mining Engineer to the United States
Bureau of Mines.

On Thursday, September 16, an excursion will take place
to Maltby Main, and Bentley collieries.

At Bentley an inspection will be made of the Doncaster
Coal Owners’ Research Laboratory, and Dr. J. S. Haldane
(director) and Mr. T. F. Winmill (chief chemist) will show
some apparatus and experiments in connection with the
investigation of spontaneous heating of coal.

TRADE AND THE WAR.

The American coal trade established a new record for
shipments on the Atlantic seaboard during July. No less
than 707,288 tons were shipped from Hampton Roads,
234,380 tons from Baltimore, and 171,127 tons from
Philadelphia. This total of 1,111,895 tons compares with
320,406 tons in July 1914, and is some 65,000 tons in excess
of the quantity shipped from these ports in June. Fresh
enquiries continue to come to hand, but the shortage of
tonnage still acts as a serious deterrent. Pocahontas and
New River are still quoted 2’65 dols. to 2’80 dols. f.o.b.
Hampton Roads and Georges Creek; 2’85 dols. to 2’95 dols.
f.o.b. Baltimore. Recent charters are as follow :—Baltimore
to River Plate, 8’22 dols.; West Coast of Italy, 9’12 dols;
Marseilles, 8’88 dols. to 9’12 dols.; Valparaiso, 6’50 dols. to
7’00 dols.

In the City of London Court last week, Messrs. G.
Hinchliffe and Company, coal merchants, 5, Lloyds-avenue,
claimed £75 13s. 6d. against the president, vice-president,
treasurer and governors of the Middlesex Hospital,
Mortimer-street, for the balance due in respect of 2,000 tons
of Navigation Welsh smokeless steam coal (Rheola Merthyr
large) at £1 2s. 6d. per ton. Mr. Trapnell appeared for
the plaintiffs, and the Hon. M. Macnaughten for the
defendants. The contract was entered into in July of last
year, and in August, as soon as the supplies were com-
menced, difficulties arose owing to the disruption of the
railway system in consequence of the outbreak of war. The
defendants pressed for supplies, and then plaintiffs found
that the Rheola Colliery Company decided to close down
owing to working at a loss, and only to supply those with
whom they had definite contracts. Plaintiffs contended that
under the contract they were not compelled to go on
supplying the same coal. Other coal was delivered at
23s. 6d. and 25s. 6d. per ton, which plaintiffs sued for.
Defendants’ case was that the plaintiffs could have got

Rheola coal at much enhanced prices, and that it ought to
have been delivered. Plaintiffs should have made a con-
tract with the colliery company instead of hoping to pick
up anywhere in the market. Mr. Trapnell pointed out that
but for the war they could have bought the coal at ordinary
prices. Defendants had bought against the plaintiffs, and
they now sought to set off .£31 16s. 6d. on that head,
admitting the claim. Judgment was given by agreement
for the defendants with costs, the hospital authorities
allowing plaintiffs £9.

Coal exporters are notified that on and after September 1
applications made to the War Trade Department for licences
to export coal to Holland must be accompanied by a certificate
from the Netherlands Oversea Trust that it has agreed with
the consignees to accept delivery of the coal on their behalf.
For some considerable time now all imports of coal into
Holland, imports from Belgium by German permission, and
also imports from this country, have been subject to the
control of the Dutch Coal Committee, which, some months
after the war, the Netherlands Government created in order
to prevent speculation in coal. This Dutch Kohlenbureau,
however, is a mere agency of the Rhenish Westphalian Coal
Syndicate. A circular was sent out stating that from July 5
all contracts made and approved before that date were
abrogated on behalf of this Dutch branch of the German
Coal Syndicate, who would be the only constituted body
authorised to receive Belgian coal. The same organisation
has usurped the right to deal with all imports of British coal.

The Minister of Munitions has issued an Order declaring
a further 190 establishments to be “ Controlled Establish-
ments ” under the Munitions of War Act, 1915. This brings
the total number of controlled establishments up to 535.

His attention having been drawn to the recent controversy
concerning the issue of licences for the export of coal, the
chairman of the Coal Exports Committee (the Right Hon.
Russell Rea, M.P.) has issued the following notes on the
subject :—“ The apprehensions of increased difficulties to
shippers of coal caused by the recent Order in Council, the
conditions of shipment, or the actions of the Coal Exports
Committee are groundless. Exporters will consign their
cargoes to their responsible agents as usual, who will receive
them subject to the conditions of supply established by the
Foreign Office and Admiralty, and shippers will incur no
further responsibility. The action of the Coal Exports Com-
mittee is directed :—(1) To securing the proper supply of the
home market under the condition of a statutory maximum
price, by limiting export to this extent. It will clearly be
well that this should be accomplished by an organisation of
the trade, rather than by a competition of every producer to
avoid his share of this obligation, which can only result in
the reduction of export prices to the level of the home price,
a result not to be desired in the national interest any more
than in that of the exporting houses. (2) To securing suffi-
cient supplies for our Allies, if necessary, by the restriction
of supplies to neutrals. In this connection it will be well to
note that provision must be made for giving France a supply
equal to about double that demanded before the war. (3) To
maintaining a rapid and simple form of procedure so as to
avoid delay to shippers, ships, and collieries.”

At the meeting of the English and Scottish Steel Makers’
Associations, held in London at the end of last week, arrange-
ments were provisionally made for the supplying of the
Government’s requirements of steel during the next 12 or 15
months. A committee has been formed to allot the contracts
to the respective associations, which in turn will allocate
the work among their members. In order to obviate undue
inflation of prices, the committee will, in consultation with
the Government, fix fair prices for the different classes of
material.

The Secretary for the Colonies has announced that the
Transvaal Coal Owners’ Association have offered his
Majesty’s Government, on behalf of the Witbank district
collieries, 100,000 tons of coal, free on rail at pithead. The
offer has been gratefully accepted by his Majesty’s Govern-
ment.

The War Trade Department has issued an official explana-
tion setting out the mode in which applications for licences
to export are dealt with, and the different circumstances
which lead to delay in the issue of licences, which in some
cases is quite unavoidable. Applications are, upon receipt,
immediately registered, and are then sent to a section of
the Department known as the trade clearing house for a
report as to whether anything is known in that section
against either the consignor or the consignee. Applications
are then sent to the departments concerned, but in the
case of certain goods they are also sent to a sub-committee of
the War Trade Department, of which there are three
dealing with applications specially relating to the Admiralty,
Board of Trade, or Board of Agriculture, and certain goods
in which the War Office are materially interested. No
licence is granted except upon the recommendation of the
committee or the department to whom the applications are
referred. These references necessarily entail more or less
time before the applications can be finally dealt with in
the department itself, but in the case of ordinary applica-
tions, where no difficulty arises, a licence is speedily granted,
usually within seven days of the receipt of the application,
and often in considerably less time. It will be readily
understood that in present circumstances many questions
must also arise as to whether, from scarcity in this country or
from the special aptitude of some goods for the preparations
of munitions of war, or from reasons of policy, it may be
undesirable to allow certain descriptions or quantities of
goods to be exported either entirely or to countries where
there is a possibility of their reaching the enemy. Where
scarcity is the main factor to be considered, circumstances
change from week to week, so that it may be possible to
grant a licence in one week which, if a final decision were
given in the previous week, would be refused. In such
cases where there is a reasonable prospect of a change, the
applications are often held up. Exports to Holland ate by
Royal Proclamation required to be consigned to the
Netherlands Oversea Trust, and the consent of that body
must be produced to the department before a licence is
granted. There are also delays in a great number of cases
which could be avoided by the applicants themselves, if
the application forms were adequately filled up. If there
are special circumstances which should in the opinion of the
applicant satisfy the department that a licence may reason-
ably be granted, a statement should be sent to that effect
with the application, setting out fully the facts to be
considered.

If report speaks truly, Russian ships have again destroyed
the fortifications and loading stations which the Turks have
re-constructed in the coal district of Anatolia. Several enemy
sailing vessels, laden with coal, have been sunk in the
neighbourhood of Trebizond.